Taxpayers Fund Research on Bugs, College Sex Lives, Facebook, and Rabbit Droppings with Stimulus Bill
Thursday, October 29, 2009
By Fred Lucas, Staff Writer
Thursday, October 29, 2009
By Fred Lucas, Staff Writer
(CNSNews.com) – In Ansonia, Conn., $2.3 million in federal stimulus funds is being used for insect research, specifically the “rearing [of] large numbers of anthropoids” which includes the “Asian long-horned beetle, the nun moth and the wooly adelgid,” the New Haven Advocate reported.
Duluth, Minn., rarely known for its high temperatures, received $6 million in economic stimulus funds for a snowmaking facility, even though it is the 15th snowiest city in America, according to City-Data.com.
As much as $30 million in federal funds will go to spring training facilities for the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies, two Major League Baseball teams. The full cost of the training complex in Scottsdale, Ariz., is $100 million.
These were just three projects – ranked numbers five, six and 10 respectively – being funded by the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act signed into law by President Barack Obama in February. The goal of this economic stimulus bill was to revive the ailing economy.
But Senate Republicans Friday released a ranking of “10 Stimulus Projects to Remember.” It cites real projects funded by the stimulus while questioning (and poking fun) at their alleged effectiveness. The projects in the rankings are described with quotations from local newspapers.
In March, both President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Bidenpledged that the stimulus funding would be closely watched to ensure it is properly spent.
“And so I’ve said before – I know Joe emphasized this point to you earlier – if we see money being misspent, we’re going to put a stop to it, and we will call it out and we will publicize it,” Obama said.
The number one spot in the ranking was awarded to a $300,000 federal grant for the mapping of radioactive rabbit droppings in Washington State.
According to The New York Times, “A government contractor at Hanford, in south-central Washington State, just spent a week mapping radioactive rabbit feces with detectors mounted on a helicopter flying 50 feet over the desert scrub. … The helicopter flights, which covered 13.7 square miles and were paid for with $300,000 in federal stimulus money, took place in an area that had never been used by the bomb makers.”
The number two spot on the list goes for tax credits of between $4,200 and $5,000 for the purchase of golf carts.
In New York, 500,000 college freshmen at Syracuse University will divulge the details of their sex lives. This will cost taxpayers $219,000, and is specifically targeted at studying the sex habits of college females.
Another $1 million in federal funds will contribute to the $7-million renovation of the Sunset Strip in Hollywood, according to the report. Also, a three-year grant of $498,000 will go to Duke University to study social networking Web sites like Facebook and Twitter.
Animals also benefit from the stimulus money as $3.4 million has been allocated for “eco-passages” to help turtles cross the highway in Florida and $380,000 to spay and neuter pets in Wichita, Kan.
Duluth, Minn., rarely known for its high temperatures, received $6 million in economic stimulus funds for a snowmaking facility, even though it is the 15th snowiest city in America, according to City-Data.com.
As much as $30 million in federal funds will go to spring training facilities for the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies, two Major League Baseball teams. The full cost of the training complex in Scottsdale, Ariz., is $100 million.
These were just three projects – ranked numbers five, six and 10 respectively – being funded by the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act signed into law by President Barack Obama in February. The goal of this economic stimulus bill was to revive the ailing economy.
But Senate Republicans Friday released a ranking of “10 Stimulus Projects to Remember.” It cites real projects funded by the stimulus while questioning (and poking fun) at their alleged effectiveness. The projects in the rankings are described with quotations from local newspapers.
In March, both President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Bidenpledged that the stimulus funding would be closely watched to ensure it is properly spent.
“And so I’ve said before – I know Joe emphasized this point to you earlier – if we see money being misspent, we’re going to put a stop to it, and we will call it out and we will publicize it,” Obama said.
The number one spot in the ranking was awarded to a $300,000 federal grant for the mapping of radioactive rabbit droppings in Washington State.
According to The New York Times, “A government contractor at Hanford, in south-central Washington State, just spent a week mapping radioactive rabbit feces with detectors mounted on a helicopter flying 50 feet over the desert scrub. … The helicopter flights, which covered 13.7 square miles and were paid for with $300,000 in federal stimulus money, took place in an area that had never been used by the bomb makers.”
The number two spot on the list goes for tax credits of between $4,200 and $5,000 for the purchase of golf carts.
In New York, 500,000 college freshmen at Syracuse University will divulge the details of their sex lives. This will cost taxpayers $219,000, and is specifically targeted at studying the sex habits of college females.
Another $1 million in federal funds will contribute to the $7-million renovation of the Sunset Strip in Hollywood, according to the report. Also, a three-year grant of $498,000 will go to Duke University to study social networking Web sites like Facebook and Twitter.
Animals also benefit from the stimulus money as $3.4 million has been allocated for “eco-passages” to help turtles cross the highway in Florida and $380,000 to spay and neuter pets in Wichita, Kan.
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